WILL POLAND BECOME A COUNTRY OF IMMIGRATION? (Czy Polska stanie sie krajem imigracyjnym?)

Poland ranks among a handful of European countries that still undergo a massive outflow of people and very little inflow. The author examines a possibility and conditions under which Poland would change its migration status in predictable future. The hypothesis claiming that European countries follow a common pattern of transition from net emigration to net immigration, which apparently constitutes a part of Europe-specific migration cycle serves as a framework of reference. In addition, the analysis draws heavily from the experience of the 'old' and 'new' immigration countries, those belonging to North-Western and Southern parts of the continent. The author argues that at present not all basic preconditions for that transition have been met in Poland. First of all, the Polish economy is not enough attractive to bring migrant workers in any systematic way and in great numbers. Secondly, the immigration policy is too conservative and short-sighted to compensate for such deficit.